PyeongChang Ready to Improve Olympics Promotion

(ATR) PyeongChang 2018 and IOC leaders continue to say the Games need more promotion with less than a year to go.

PyeongChang 2018 president Hee Beom Lee and IOC Coordination Commission chair Gunilla Lindberg held a press conference at the end of the eighth CoComm visit to South Korea. The pair discussed the pressing organizational needs for the Olympics, the current political climate in Korea and the main legacy challenges PyeongChang faces.

Lee, speaking about the remaining 11 months of organization, told reporters that the Organizing Committee has identified a number of "core areas," for needed improvement. These areas include accommodations, transport and legacy, as well as continuous promotion of the Games.

Increased communication efforts for PyeongChang have been urged by the IOC for the past few years. PyeongChang organizers have increased visibility through the hiring of Hill+Knowlton Strategies in November 2016 and Publicis this week.

"I think we will have to step up our efforts in promotion and communication," Lee said to reporters. "We will make sure that we implement all the action plans for the tasks and we will make sure that we implement them on time. We have to create the festive atmosphere in Korea for the Games and through our promotion and communication actions."

Lindberg welcomed the news that PyeongChang would be "enhancing its promotional" efforts around the Games. She said that this will be helped through the upcoming final milestones such as the beginning of the Olympic Torch Relay. The IOC expects the relay to "bring excitement to the home country," upon its kick off.

Lee says that 10 of the 12 competition venues have operators for after the Games and talks continue to prevent any white elephants. Management for the venues will be split between the private and public sector.

Lindberg says that PyeongChang 2018 must sit down after the CoComm leaves and begin sorting out the two major issues that remain: accommodation and transportation. Every athlete and stakeholder has a bed in PyeongChang, Lindberg said, but the final placement of hotels is constantly moving.

"We still have things to do to clarify the transportation system," Lindberg said. "[Such as] how it is going to work both here and from the airport, so all the stakeholders know the procedure from coming to the airport to PyeongChang area."

IOC and CoComm member Tsunekazu Takeda spoke to to Around the Rings after the press conference saying he believed organizers "were working very hard," to make sure the Games go on as planned. He said that the CoComm was concerned that "venues were [at one point] behind schedule," as well as how tourists will stay in PyeongChang.

"I think POCOG has a problem of accommodations for tourists, it is a still challenging problem," Takeda tells ATR.

Both Lee and Lindberg deflected concerns over the domestic political situation impacting the PyeongChang Olympics. Yesterday, IOC president Thomas Bach met with the country’s acting President and speaker of the National Assembly. Upon a tour of the under-construction Olympic village, Bach said that he was "assured… that the Games are enjoying full support across all political parties."

South Korea will hold a snap election on May 9 after the impeachment of Park Geun Hye last week.

Written by Aaron Bauerwith help from Hironori Hashimoto in PyeongChang

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